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T.J. Dillashaw proved he is the better man with a first-round knockout victory over Cody Garbrandt at UFC 227 in Los Angeles at the Staples Center. Oh, and Demetrious Johnson was finally beaten.
A wild night in L.A. indeed.
Dillashaw had little trouble with Garbrandt. He proved to be the class of the division, and the UFC has a few options for his next defense. Which route should they take? Hmm.
In the co-main event, Henry Cejudo did the near unthinkable. He unseated "Mighty Mouse" for the flyweight belt. But it wasn't easy nor was it definitive. The logical choice is an immediate rematch for the longtime champion, but Cejudo called out for the bantamweight title tilt. Which should the UFC choose for the Olympic gold medalist?
The UFC matchmaking crew has their work cut out for them as 2018 nears its end for these combatants. So, let's offer them a helping hand.
Here are the matches to make for every winner, and loser, from UFC 227.
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- Brett Johns vs. Marlon Vera
- Pedro Munhoz vs. John Lineker
- Montel Jackson vs. Patrick Williams
- Ricky Simon vs. Ricardo Ramos
- Kyung Ho Kang vs. Loser of Douglas Silva de Andrade vs. Petr Yan (UFC Fight Night 136, September 15)
- Ricardo Ramos vs. Ricky Simon
- Matt Sayles vs. Daniel Teymur
- Sheymon Moraes vs. Dan Ige
- Jose Torres vs. Joseph Morales
- Alex Perez vs. Ben Nguyen
- Danielle Taylor should be sent to Invicta FC
- Zhang Weili vs. Nadia Kassem
- Wuliji Buren vs. Kwan Ho Kwak
- Marlon Vera vs. Brett Johns
Pedro Munhoz def. Brett Johns by unanimous decision (30-26, 29-28, 29-27)
Ricky Simon def. Montel Jackson by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Ricardo Ramos def. Kyung Ho Kang by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Sheymon Moraes def. Matt Sayles by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Alex Perez def. Jose Torres by KO at 3:36 of the first round
Zhang Weili def. Danielle Taylor by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Marlon Vera def. Wuliji Buren by TKO at 4:53 of the second round
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Thiago Santos def. Kevin Holland by unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 30-26)
Kevin Holland performed admirably against one of the heavy hitters in the middleweight division, but Santos was able to take a clear-cut decision.
Ian Heinisch recently won his Dana White's Tuesday Night Contender Series fight and stated he wants to fight any past Contender Series middleweight who made it to the UFC (h/t MMAJunkie.com's Dann Stupp & Ken Hathaway) That fits Holland's profile and works for Holland even coming off this loss.
The bigger questions comes in what to do with No. 13-ranked contender Santos.
Nearly all of the top 15 are booked, and it may come down to choosing a winner from that lot. So, how about the winner of Antonio Carlos Junior vs. Elias Theodorou? Santos and Theodorou fought to a decision back in 2015, which Santos won, but three years is ample time for this rematch should the Canadian win.
If "Shoeface" wins? That's a fantastic main card bout for a future Brazilian fight card. Regardless, Santos vs. the winner of that September 22 card will help vault the winner into the top 10.
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JJ Aldrich def. Polyana Viana by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-27)
On paper, this seemed like a matchup that the UFC made to have Polyana Viana shine, but JJ Aldrich was going to have none of that. The steadfast strawweight pressured Viana for 15 minutes and picked up a unanimous decision victory.
There are no matchups that jump off the page for either lady as they both have a lot of work to do in this division.
Viana's next fight should be against another fighter coming off a loss, or two, such as Jodie Esquibel. Perhaps even in a "loser leaves town" kind of fight. The division needs bodies, but it also needs excitement.
Aldrich moves forward, but to where? Not a top-15 level fight. One fighter I keep mentioning in these pieces is Alexandra Albu. There have not been reports of injuries. So, where is she? That should be someone the UFC eyes for Aldrich's next outing.
Albu is an intriguing prospect withering away on the roster. Is the UFC attempting to book her? Is she turning down fights? What is the situation with this entertaining fighter? Well, if they can book her then Aldrich would be the right opponent.
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Renato Moicano def. Cub Swanson via submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:15 of the first round
Cub Swanson entered as the No. 5-ranked featherweight contender. As such, this may sound very harsh. He is a gatekeeper. Just a very high-level gatekeeper. And Renato Moicano burst through that gate.
Swanson is a very fun and challenging fighter, but he has a lot of miles on his body without having been able to crack through to the title. He is just a step below the very elite in the division. Moicano handled Swanson at UFC 227. Does that make him elite?
Well, if nothing else, it should give him the opportunity to prove it against one of those fighters.
Give Moicano either Chad Mendes or Jose Aldo. That will prove where he truly lies as a contender.
The UFC has two options for Swanson — continue with him being a gatekeeper or put him against other entertaining fighters that may give a card a boost. The latter is more preferable. So, what about Jason Knight? "Hick Diaz" and Cub would put on a barnburner of a show without having too many consequences to the division.
Give us the fun.
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Henry Cejudo def. Demetrious Johnson by split decision (48-47, 47-48, 48-47)
The greatest fighter of all-time, Demetrious Johnson, saw defeat for the first time since 2011. Expect an immediate rematch.
Johnson doesn't get an immediate rematch simply because it was his first defeat in nearly seven years. He gets a rematch because this was not a definitive victory for Henry Cejudo. It was a close fight that divided MMA on who actually won. Johnson deserves that rematch.
Cejudo called for the winner of T.J. Dillashaw and Cody Garbrandt. That should not happen. Johnson was being eyed for a potential fight against the bantamweight champion because he had, until UFC 227, cleared out the division. Cejudo has not done that and there are a bevy of featherweight contenders waiting for their shot at Dillashaw.
And at flyweight, there is no more deserving or interesting opponent than Johnson.
This high-level matchup deserves its trilogy fight for a definitive conclusion. Johnson stopped Cejudo in their first meeting and Cejudo eeked out a contentious split decision. Anything other than Johnson getting his rightful rematch is nothing more than pathetic matchmaking from the UFC.
I don't expect that to be the case.
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T.J. Dillashaw def. Cody Garbrandt by TKO at 4:17 of the first round
Technique wins.
Cody Garbrandt was winding up and looking for the KO blow while Dillashaw relied on superior technique. And he finished another incredibly talented fighter in a championship bout. The second time he has done that to "No Love".
Garbrandt will need to take time before earning another title bid, but he also can't fight someone unranked. That does limit the options a bit. No. 8 and No. 10-ranked bantamweight contenders Aljamain Sterling and Cody Stamann, respectively, fight at UFC 228 on September 8. The winner makes sense for Garbrandt.
Garbrandt and the winner of that contest are at least two fights out from a title shot. Let's not muddy the water and clear the path for the winner to potentially see a title eliminator in 2019.
Dillashaw has three options: Dominick Cruz, Raphael Assuncao and Marlon Moraes. Moraes is the clear choice that has to be made.
Cruz's last fight was against Garbrandt where he lost the belt, and he hasn't been back since. Cruz does not deserve the fight against Dillashaw even though he owns a win over the champion. Assuncao and Dillashaw are 1-1 against each other, but Dillashaw cruised to a win when they last met at UFC 200 in 2016. It's not fresh or exciting.
But Moraes is.
Dillashaw vs. Moraes is a scintillating contest that will light the crowd on fire with high-level, fast-paced, jaw-dropping technical brilliance. That is the bantamweight title fight fans should be clamoring for sometime later this year.
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